National Trust - Paycocke's House and Garden — Attraction in Braintree

Situated in the village of Coggeshall near Colchester,Essex this ancient house has a rich history. It was one the home of the Paycock family who were wealthy traders in the cloth industry which was present in much of the local area hundreds of years ago. The house has had many more occupants both before and after and the volunteer guides will fill you in as you are given a tour around the house and gardens. After the tour there are a few more rooms to visit and information boards giving a further insight into the history of the house and those who resided there. Entry is free for National Trust members. Membership is from £7.50 a month and gives access to over 500 locations. You can also pay to just visit the house. There is a tea room and a secondhand bookshop on-site. During the tour visitors go to the upper floor,due to the age of the house there are only stairs so wheelchair users could only have a partial tour. Personally,I would allow about two hours for your visit. There is free street parking nearby on weekends as there's a single yellow line. During the week it would be necessary to park in the nearby village. If you have time then National Trust's Grange Barn is just five minutes away. It is a huge 800 year old monastic barn again with an interesting history. There is a ruined Monastery and also a museum in the village, both of those are...

Nice small National Trust house. It IS just a house, with a small garden - dont expect a mansion. The guided tour takes about an hour, and they tell you the history of the house. You really need to book though if you want the tour, as it is a small place and they can only have a certain amount of people in the house at once.

There is a small garden, which has vegetable patches, and borders. Its not a formal garden, or anything, but quite pleasent. You can take your dog in the garden, and there was a couple of dog bowls for them.

There is a small cafe, selling the normal National Trust stuff, sandwiches, cheese scones, and tea et and plenty of tables inside and out.

You are free to take a picnic too and enjoy it in the garden.

On the whole, a very nice little National Trust property, worth popping in, if you are nearby.

Parking is on the road though, and can be a problem i think.....luckily we were able to park quite close, but i can see it might not always...

Our visit to Paycocke's House and Garden absolutely blew our minds. From the outside, it appears as a smaller, though charming, house, but it boasts a deceptively large garden.

What truly made our experience splendid was the National Trust crew. People like Anna, Jason, and the entire gang were incredibly helpful and acted as personal tour guides in each section, making our visit feel unique. We learnt far more than we ever imagined. The house was very interactive, with many things to see, touch, and feel, which ensured the kids weren't bored either.

To top it all off, the café is splendid. Enjoying very reasonably priced scones and tea out in their lovely garden was a real treat.

This is probably the best National Trust property we've ever been to, which was a genuine surprise given its modest initial appearance. We made a detour all the way from Mersea Island on our way back to London specifically to see it, and it was definitely worth the journey. Well done...